Love's Philosophy

Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Love’s Philosophy

prospective lover by pointing out the way that nature in general POEM TEXT seems to follow a "divine law" that dictates universal mingling and connectedness. Put more concretely: the speaker uses the 1 The fountains mingle with the river tendency of nature to come together—rivers flowing into the ocean, the mixing of the winds in the sky—to argue that physical 2 And the rivers with the ocean, intimacy between people is simply following the laws of nature. 3 The winds of heaven mix for ever As such, the speaker and the addressee should form their own 4 With a sweet emotion; physical union (that is, have sex, or at least kiss). 5 Nothing in the world is single; The poem uses a deliberate logical structure to make its 6 All things by a law divine argument. Each stanza points out evidence from the natural 7 In one spirit meet and mingle. world of two beautiful natural elements coming together. 8 Why not I with thine?— These examples are designed to make the coming together of the speaker and their lover therefore seem like the only logical 9 See the mountains kiss high heaven thing to do as well as beautiful and natural. In the first stanza, 10 And the waves clasp one another; for instance, the speaker points out the way that fountains 11 No sister-flower would be forgiven become rivers, which in turn join up with oceans. These 12 If it disdained its brother; different bodies of water “mingle,” meaning they all mix 13 And the sunlight clasps the earth together. This is the first xamplee of the key idea of the poem’s philosophy of love: “nothing in the world is single.” And, 14 And the moonbeams kiss the sea: accordingly, the speaker asks: why shouldn't they and their 15 What is all this sweet work worth prospective lover similarly mingle? 16 If thou kiss not me? The poem is littered with other examples of this intermingling between natural elements. In line 9, mountains “kiss” (a suggestive word choice!) the sky; in line 10, waves “clasp” onto SUMMARY one another. The speaker uses flowers as another xamplee in lines 11 and 12, specifically looking at the way flowers pollinate Water from fountains run into rivers, which in turn join (literally, a form of reproduction!). The speaker then further together in the oceans. Likewise, the winds of heaven are asserts that the above examples illustrate not just the way always and forever mixing with each other and with deep and things are in nature but that nature is just one part of a world beautiful feelings. Nothing in the world is a single governed by a “law divine” that decrees that everything in the entity—everything is connected according to a divine law which natural, spiritual and emotional worlds must "meet and mingle." dictates that all things connect through their spirit. And if that In other words, the speaker suggests that togetherness is a is the case, why shouldn’t I mingle and connect with you? kind of godliness—not just a natural law but divine one too. The Look at the way that mountains kiss the heavens, and how the speaker uses language that in ways both subtle and not waves embrace one another. A female flower that ignored the supports this idea: referring not to the "sky" but always to the love of its male equivalent would never be forgiven. Sunlight "heavens," while the sunlight and moonlight described as embraces the earth, and moonlight kisses the sea. But what "clasping" and "kissing" the earth and sea can be seen as does it all mean—what is all this connection worth—if you will representing the union between things of nature and things of not kiss me? heaven (the light of the sun and moon). So, asks the speaker, given that this coming together is not just the way the world works but the way in which it expresses its THEMES divinity, how could the two of them (the speaker and the addressee) not follow suit? The speaker even presents the NATURE, CONNECTEDNESS, LOVE, AND above as a kind of duty. If the world is full of divine togetherness, it does the world a disservice not to join in their SEX own natural and divine union: “What is all this sweet “Love’s Philosophy” is a playful seduction poem in work”—that is, the beautiful unity of the world—"worth / If thou which the speaker (who has traditionally been thought of as a kiss not me?” man but who's gender is in fact unspecified) tries to woo their

Shelley’s poem fits into a long line of seduction poems in which LINES 3-4 the speaker follows a conceit, playfully presenting evidence of The winds of heaven mix for ever their argument in an attempt to make getting together the only With a sweet emotion; logical response. Meanwhile, to what degree the speaker actually believes the argument being made — to what extent Lines 3 and 4 further develop the conceit of the speaker wants actually believes in a divine law decreeing interconnectedness introduced by lines 1 and 2. In fact, sex as a beautiful natural act or, rather, just wants to seduce an through careful word choice and the use of personification, the object of desire — is never made entirely clear. speaker actually extends that conceit. In the first two lines, it pertains just to water, a natural thing. In lines 3 and 4, it is still a natural thing—wind—that is mixing together. But the speaker Where this theme appears in the poem: does not just say "winds," or "winds of the sky." Rather the • Lines 1-16 speaker describes them as "the winds of heaven." And, in addition, the speaker personifies the winds yb saying that they mix "with a sweet emotion." In this way, the speaker extends the LINE-BY-LINE ANALYSIS realms subject to this ever present mixing beyond just nature to include both the spiritual ("heaven") and "emotion." The use LINES 1-2 of "for ever" also suggests that what is being discussed is a kind of eternal law of the universe. The fountains mingle with the river And the rivers with the ocean, As of these two lines, the speaker has still not revealed why this "mingling" and "mixing" in nature are meaningful or important. "Love's Philosophy" jumps right in by establishing its main But the poem is continuing to set the foundation for that conceit, which is essentially that nature is full of examples of eventual reveal in a variety of ways. First, as with line 1, line 3 is togetherness and union. Lines 1 and 2 present the first xamplee enjambed, which results in lines 3 and four being "mixed" or of this conceit, discussing the way that the flow of water pushed together to form a pair. Second, the words "winds," represents both separate elements and an ultimate "mix," and "sweet," give these lines a hint of sibilance. The togetherness. That is, while "fountains," "river[s]," and sibilance is suggestive of the whooshing sounds of the mixing "ocean[s]" are separate bodies of water, they all "mingle" and winds, but it also connects to the much more prevalent become one. sibilance in the second stanza, and, in particular, connects to The poem's use of the example of water flowing together is the the strongest sibilant, and sexually suggestive, words in that first step in an effort to argue that all things in nature and the second stanza: "kiss" and "clasp." So while the speaker has not world are connected. This argument is also reflected and made clear where the poem is going, hints abound. supported in the structure of these (and other) lines in the poem. Line 1 is enjambed, connecting it smoothly to line 2. Like LINES 5-8 the water, these two lines are both separate entities and, at the Nothing in the world is single; same time, connected. They are a pair. Meanwhile, the All things by a law divine anadiplosis in these two lines—through the use of "river" at the In one spirit meet and mingle. end of line 1 and the beginning of line 2—underscores this Why not I with thine? sense of flow and togetherness. In the second half of the first stanza, the poem makes its Though the speaker hasn't yet explained why these points intentions clear, clarifying what "Love's Philosophy" actually is. about the connectedness of things are important, these two Having listed examples of the way that nature, the "heavens," lines are laying the metaphorical groundwork for the speaker's and "emotions" tend toward connection and mingling, the coming argument that it is a divine law reflected in nature for speaker now reveals that ideas behind those observations. all things to be connected, including for human beings to be In making clear the primary theme of the poem, the speaker physically and emotionally intimate with one another. The uses the techniques of building a logical argument. First, the assonant /I/ sounds in this line also help to build this sense of speaker takes the observations made in the first four lines, and unity and togetherness: derives from them a conclusion:

The fountains mingle with the river Nothing in the world is single. And the rivers with the ocean, That is, all things are connected. The speaker then extends this In just two short lines, then, the poem has already started conclusion to propose that, since "nothing in the world is subtly making its (seductive) case that all things both are and single," then it must be a "divine law" which stipulates that all should be connected.

©2020 LitCharts LLC v.007 www.LitCharts.com Page 2 Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com things must "meet and mingle" and form "one spirit." And then the description exists as something described by one to the the speaker extends this logic further, to the speaker's ultimate other. The first stanza is calmer, and does not mention any point: if all the world obeys a "divine law" that says all things relationship between the poet and the addressee until it's final should "meet and mingle," then shouldn't the speaker and the line. A reader looking at the first 7 lines of the first stanza might person whom the speaker is addressing also follow that divine not even realize that the speaker is addressing anyone other law? In the first stanza, the speaker has used observations of than the reader at all. In the second stanza, in contrast, the nature, extended those observations to make what feels like a reader knows all along that the speaker is talking to a beloved, credible conclusion about the way that both the world and and the reader is just listening in. heaven works, and then used that conclusion to convince the In lines 9 and 10, both mountains and waves are personified, addressee to "mingle." and in both instances the personification relates specifically to The structure and poetic devices in these four lines continue to sex. The mountains "kiss high heaven" (more reinforcement of support, and even to embody, this idea of the speaker and the the idea of spiritual union) while the "waves clasp one another." addressee "connecting." While line 5, which states the The alliteration of "high heaven" is yet another pair, backing up conclusion that follows the evidence of lines 1 to 4, exists as a the argument that the speaker and the addressee should be a solitary line, lines 6 and 7 return to poem's pattern of pair too. This "high heaven" suggests not just the spiritual enjambing every two lines. So as the speaker prepares to spring heights of heaven but also seems to imply the physical climaxes the "surprise" of line 8's proposal that the addressee agree to of sex too—it's a kind of metaphor for sex, in other words. The "pair up," the speaker's lines are themselves paired up. clasping waves can also be seen as a particularly graphic Further, line 7 uses alliteration in "meet" and "mingle"—another metaphor for sex, as well. pairing—and, of course, the latter word has already been used Continuing the trend of personification, lines 11 and 12 argue once earlier in the poem (in line 1), forming yet another pair. that "sister" and "brother" flowers have a kind of divine duty to The first stanza also concludes with a rhetorical question, with be connected to one another—and, by extension, that the the speaker asking the addressee how they could possibly not speaker and the addressee do, too. (While most flowers don't be together, given that the world itself seems to argue that they actually reproduce through the union of separate male and should. And this question is itself paired with the rhetorical female flowers, some actually do; though it isn't clear that the question that ends the second stanza. The poem itself is filled speaker cares here about scientific accuracy.) with pairs, as if the sheer weight of pairs will convince the addressee to form a pair with the speaker. LINES 13-16 Finally, it's worth noting that this argument-as-seduction And the sunlight clasps the earth technique is a long-standing tradition in English poetry, with And the moonbeams kiss the sea: many of the 17th century poet John Donne's poems being What is all this sweet work worth particularly fine xamplese of how to do it. If thou kiss not me? The second stanza also differs from the first because its LINES 9-12 midpoint does not mark the restatement of "love's philosophy," See the mountains kiss high heaven but instead provides yet another example of the connection And the waves clasp one another; that is rampant in nature. As though reaching its rhetorical No sister-flower would be forgiven peak, the poem is even more full of pairings here (and, in If it disdained its brother; essence, this poem is an argument in favor of pairing together). The second stanza of the poem is in many ways very similar to Lines 13 and 14 both begin with "And the," and both have a the first. Like the first, it lists xamplese of togetherness before callback word to an earlier moment in the poem ("clasps" and turning this evidence into a rhetorical question. But this isn't "kiss"). And the words that are being repeated are, of course, sloppiness or laziness on Shelley's part—it's another way of highly suggestive of sex. representing pairs in the poem. The two stanzas are In the figures of the earth and moon, too, there is another themselves pairs. example of interdependence. The moon and sun are often Lines 9 to 12 list two such examples, but also use thought of as a pair, and they are both heavenly bodies—thus personification to make them seem even more relevant to the once again reinforcing the poem's idea of union as a way of situation that the speaker and the addressee find themselves expressing a divine law. And these heavenly bodies are also in. It's also worth noting the subtle change in tone at the start rather suggestively joining with the earth as well, which again of line 9, which uses an imperative verb ("See"). The use of this implies that the coming together of all sorts of bodies is both comment makes the speaker's argument to the addressee even natural and divinely sanctioned. more urgent, and also embeds the relationship between the Also running through these lines all the way to the end is a speaker and the addressee into everything that comes after. All gentle sibilance, which carries with it the seductive suggestion

©2020 LitCharts LLC v.007 www.LitCharts.com Page 3 Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com of the sound of lips kissing: this line, the pair of shared sounds is joined by a preceding third instance of the sound, which is a further distance away. The And the sunlight clasps the earth alliteration in this line therefore recalls the pairings of the And the moonbeams kiss the sea: earlier lines (and continues to highlight the idea of the pairing What is all this sweet work worth that the speaker wants to create with the addressee), but the If thou kiss not me? extra /w/ also emphasizes the "what" that begins the line and emphasizes the that the poem, and all of the examples the Lines 15 and 16 are like the closing argument of an attorney in speaker has cited, are all connected to the speaker's ultimate court. Having laid out the evidence—which is intended to be question about whether the addressee will give in to a kiss. practically irrefutable—the speaker makes their intentions as clear as day. In fact, the speaker raises the stakes by essentially Where Alliteration appears in the poem: saying two things at once: • Line 7: “m,” “m” • Line 9: “h,” “h” 1. That all of the "work" of the world, all the "mingling" • Line 15: “W,” “w,” “w” of the natural and spiritual worlds and the "divine law" that governs that mingling, would be made worthless if the addressee does not recognize and ASSONANCE abide by that law (and kiss the speaker). Kissing the There is a subtle assonance at play throughout the first stanza. speaker, in other words, is the addressee's duty. In this section, the speaker describes the interconnectedness 2. That all of the speaker's "work" in writing this entire between different parts of nature (starting with fountains, poem, and making this whole argument, is made rivers, and oceans). The use of assonance in this section means worthless if the addressee does not agree to a kiss. that there is a shared sound running throughout the lines., such Here the speaker is saying, playfully, that the effort that the words themselves are interconnected too: of creating something as great as this poem is itself reason enough for the addressee to give in to the The fountains mingle with the river seduction. And the rivers with the ocean, As with the first stanza's conclusion, the rhetorical question This /i/ is then subtly weaved throughout the rest of the stanza, that ends the poem is not one that needs answering with meaning that all eight lines are subtly intertwined. The stanza, words—it's intended response is a kiss. then, manages to represent the very process of connection it describes through assonance. POETIC DEVICES The other main example of assonance occurs in the poem’s concluding rhetorical question with the repeated /o/ sound: ALLITERATION “Love’s Philosophy” uses alliteration to clever and deliberate What is all this sweet work worth effect. The first instance appears in line 7: “In one spirit meet If thou not kiss me? and mingle.” In this line the poem first describes the content of the "law divine," that all things should unify and come together, Firstly, this assonance comes as a pair, one of a number of pairs and the poem augments that argument by using a shared throughout the poem. These pairs help reinforce the speaker’s sound—the /m/—to connect the two key words. Also important seductive argument, subtly reinforcing the idea that the union is the fact that the line contains two /m/ sounds—the “meet[ing] between two people is natural and divine. At the same time, the and ming[ling]” that the poem describes are all pairs, which also obvious pattern of the repeated /o/ sounds also highlight the relates to the "pairing" that the speaker desires with the artifice of the poem—the fact that it is made. Part of the poem’s prospective lover. logic is that all things are made, and made specifically in accordance with a divine law about interconnectedness. The Th /m/ sounds in line 7 are the first alliterative pairs in the assonance, then, reinforces the question, showing the effort poem, but not the last. A second pair is found in line 9: “See the behind the “work”—which in the poem refers to the work of the mountains kiss high heaven.” These shared /h/ sounds have the divine law upon nature—and thereby doubling down on the added effect of creating the sound of breathlessness, which fits idea that it is worth something—in this case, a kiss. perfectly with the line’s thinly veiled reference to sexual passion. At the same time, the artificiality of the poem can also be read in a different way. While the poem explicitly connects the idea The other example of alliteration in the poem occurs in the of "work" to the "work" of the divine law as it operates to poem's penultimate line: “What is all this sweet work worth.” In

©2020 LitCharts LLC v.007 www.LitCharts.com Page 4 Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com connect all things in the world, it's also possible to read the The second part of the argument is that, given that the world is "work" as referring to the speaker's effort in coming up with so interconnected, it would be doing a kind of divine disservice this whole argument, to write this poem, in order to seduce the if the addressee were not to "connect" with the speaker and addressee. The poem's ending in this reading refers also to become the speaker’s lover. Similar to the way that an earlier what the speaker feels that they deserve after writing the English poet, John Donne, would construct seduction poems poem, and the poetic techniques like assonance that the through surprising logical argument (for instance in "The Flea"), speaker uses to augment the argument can be taken also as Shelley’s poem depends entirely on accepting the idea that signals of the speaker's "work" in trying to seduce the different parts of the world are joined together. To back up the addressee. idea that nature is full of examples of union (particularly pairs), the poem is littered with linguistic and stylistic pairs—whether Where Assonance appears in the poem: through the two-stanza form, the alliteration in lines like line 9, or the repetition of certain specific words e.g.( clasp/clasps). • Line 1: “i,” “i,” “i” • Line 2: “i” Where Conceit appears in the poem: • Line 3: “i,” “i” • Line 5: “i,” “i,” “i,” “i” • Lines 1-16 • Line 6: “i” • Line 7: “I,” “i,” “i,” “i” CONSONANCE • Line 8: “i” • Line 15: “o,” “o” Consonance is used subtly throughout “Love’s Philosophy.” As with most of the other poetic devices used in the poem, it is mostly employed to build a sense of ANADIPLOSIS interconnectedness—exactly the thing that the speaker wants Anadiplosis occurs once in “Love’s Philosophy,” in the repeat of to achieve with the addressee of the poem! The most obvious “river” in lines 1 and 2. In these first two lines, the poem is example of this sound-as-connection idea is through the establishing evidence of unity and interconnectedness in the numerous /n/ sounds that run throughout the first stanza. world by relating how fountains turn to rivers, which then turn These combine with the /i/ assonance to create lines that feel to oceans. Part of the point here is to question where one ends like they belong together in a kind of sonic harmony: and another begins—what is the precise point that a river turns into an ocean, for example? The interconnectedness of the The fountains mingle with the river world’s water is part of the speaker’s proofs about the “divine And the river with the ocean, law” of togetherness, which is key to the seductive argument The winds of heaven mix for ever that the speaker is making in the poem. Repeating “river” in the With a sweet emotion; first two lines conveys this sense of flow, as the word itself Nothing in the world is single; flows like water from one line to another. All things by a law divine Another effect of the anadiplosis is the way that it creates a In one spirit meet and mingle. pair of “river[s].” The poem is packed full of pairs—and it’s the Why not I with thine?— desire to pair off with the addressee that drives the speaker’s words in the first place. These sounds help make it seem as if even the poem itself is subject to the divine law that it states between lines 5 and 7: Where Anadiplosis appears in the poem: that “all things” are connected. In stanza 2, the poem uses alliterative consonance: “high • Line 1: “river” heaven.” These two /h/ sounds form a pair—again, such a • Line 2: “rivers” "pairing" is exactly what the speaker wants to do with the addressee of the poem! The rest of the stanza uses a lot of CONCEIT sibilant consonance throughout (/s/ sounds), which evoke the The entire poem depends on the use of conceit. Essentially, the sound and sensation of kissing (this is discussed further in the speaker has two stages to their seductive argument. First, that sibilance section). Finally, the penultimate line presents another nature and the world more generally are full of examples of instance of alliterative consonance—“work worth.” These form union, togetherness, and interconnectedness. The speaker another pair, but are also suggestive of effort and physical argues, in fact, that "interconnectedness" is a kind of divine law exertion: a not-so-subtle hint around sex. which governs all things. This is a holistic worldview—a philosophical idea that champions the unity between different Where Consonance appears in the poem: elements—and is at the core of the poem’s conceit.

• Line 1: “n,” “n,” “n” • Line 12: “ If” • Line 2: “n,” “n” • Line 13: “earth ” • Line 3: “n,” “n” • Line 14: “ And” • Line 4: “n” • Line 15: “worth ” • Line 5: “N,” “n,” “n” • Line 16: “ If” • Line 6: “n,” “n” • Line 7: “n,” “n” PERSONIFICATION • Line 8: “n,” “n” Generally speaking in “Love’s Philosophy,” the entire world is • Line 9: “S,” “ss,” “h,” “h” personified. That’s because “all things” meet in a “spirit” of • Line 10: “s,” “s” interconnectedness. Indeed, this is presented as a “divine” law • Line 11: “s,” “s” that governs the world. • Line 12: “s,” “s” • Line 13: “s,” “s,” “s” By using the word "mingle" to refer to the way that fountains • Line 14: “s,” “ss,” “s” and rivers and oceans come together, the connotation does not • Line 15: “s,” “s,” “s,” “w,” “w” just mean "to mix"—it also means "to socialize," adding a human • Line 16: “ss” element to this section of the poem. Shortly after that, when the speaker does use the word "mix" to describe the joining of ENJAMBMENT the “winds of heaven,” this mixing is described as occurring “with a sweet emotion,” again presenting the natural (and Enjambment is used to deliberate and interesting effect in spiritual) world as somehow aligned with the world of human “Love’s Philosophy.” It’s fair to say that the poem has one main feelings. goal: to seduce the addressee by proving that the world is full of interconnectedness, particularly in the form of pairs The personification really ampsr up in the second stanza. Here, (creating a "pair" being what the speaker desires). Enjambment mountains “kiss” heaven; waves “clasp one another;” flowers works within this overall project to help make the poem are capable of disdain and forgiveness; sunlight and moonlight jampacked with its own examples of pairings. also “kiss” and “clasp.” Practically the entire world is shown as engaging in interactions that take their cues from human First of all, it’s worth noting that enjambment only ever occurs behavior (and primarily human love and sex), reinforcing the between two lines at a time, as opposed to more. With the speaker’s attempt to seduce the poem’s addressee. Essentially, exception of lines 5 and 8, almost every single line in the poem the speaker is personifying the natural and spiritual world in is in a kind of partnership with another line that is made order to point out examples of the almost sexual union in the possible by the enjambment. Enjambment, then, reinforces the world, and relating these to the speaker and addressee’s speaker’s seductive argument that, if the world is full of particular situation. union—and indeed, that this is a divine and beautiful law—why shouldn’t the speaker and the addressee form their own union too. Where Personification appears in the poem: Another function of enjambment in the poem is to create a • Lines 1-2 sense of flow (another aspect of the general idea of • Line 1 interconnectedness). In lines 1 and 2, for example, the • Line 3 “fountains” and “river” are allowed to meet seamlessly with the • Lines 3-4 “river” and “ocean,” unhindered by any obstructive punctuation. • Lines 9-14

Where Enjambment appears in the poem: RHETORICAL QUESTION “Love’s Philosophy” is a poem in a long-standing tradition: • Line 1: “river ” seduction as a kind of logical argument. The speaker of the • Line 2: “ And” poem builds an argument through evidence, and then, as if • Line 3: “ever ” gesturing towards all this evidence with a wave of the arm, asks • Line 4: “ With” the addressee to agree that the argument is irrefutable (and • Line 6: “divine ” • Line 7: “In” that, therefore, they should be lovers together!). Rhetorical • Line 9: “heaven ” questions are common features of logical argumentation, and • Line 10: “ And” in this poem the speaker twice relies on rhetorical questions to • Line 11: “forgiven ” make the argument that the addressee should agree to become the speaker's lover.

First of all, it’s worth noting that the rhetorical questions in and sibilance in this stanza and the speaker's efforts to achieve of themselves form a pair—and the poem is full of pairings that physical intimacy with the addressee. help reinforce the seduction argument. Likewise, both come in similar places, at the end of each stanza. This is suggestive of Where Sibilance appears in the poem: harmony and beauty, also part of the speaker’s argument that the "pairings" of nature fit into a divinely sanctioned order (and, • Line 9: “S,” “s,” “ss” by extension, that "pairing off" with the speaker would be a part • Line 10: “s,” “s” • Line 11: “s” of that divine order). • Line 12: “s,” “s” Though the two questions are similar, there are important • Line 13: “s,” “s,” “s” differences. The first question comes after the speaker has • Line 14: “s,” “ss,” “s” stated the central law of “love’s philosophy,” which is that “all • Line 15: “s,” “s,” “s” things” are interconnected, so the speaker and their • Line 16: “ss” prospective lover should be too. The speaker poses the question with disarming, charming simplicity: “Why not I with thine?” In other words, why shouldn’t their two spirits be brought into union together through passionate love. VOCABULARY The second question intensifies this sentiment, suggesting that, Mingle (Line 1) - To mingle means to mix, but also has as the world is governed by this “divine law” of connotations of socializing too. interconnectedness, it would be a disservice to that law if the Law divine (Line 6) - The "law divine" in the poem refers to a two of them—the speaker and the addressee—don’t become kind of natural law created by God. physically intimate. At the same time, it's possible to read the second rhetorical question as containing a bit of both showing Thine (Line 8) - Thine is an archaic form of "yours." off and a sense of entitlement on the part of the speaker. While Clasp (Line 10) - "Clasp" means to hold or hug tightly. the second question seems most clearly to say that the “sweet Sister-flower (Line 11) - Sister-flower here refers to female work” of the world would be “worth” nothing if this rhetorical flowers, which form a sexual union with "brother" flowers. In question is answered by anything other than a kiss, it also can reality, most flowers/plants have both sexual organs on them, be read as saying that the lack of a kiss would also make the though there are some species with separate male/female speaker's own "work" in creating this beautiful argument and flowers too. poem would be made worthless if the addressee doesn't give in Disdained (Line 12) - To disdain something or someone is to to this seduction. treat it as if it is unworthy of attention.

Where Rhetorical Question appears in the poem: Thou (Line 16) - Thou is an archaic form of "you." • Line 8: “ Why not I with thine?— ” • Lines 15-16: “What is all this sweet work worth / If FORM, METER, & RHYME thou kiss not me?” FORM SIBILANCE Shelley’s “Love’s Philosophy” follows a regular form. It consists While there are some sibilant sounds in the first stanza, it’s in of two stanzas, each of which is an eight-line octave. The poem the second stanza that sibilance starts to play a significant role is an argument of seduction—an effort to get the addressee to in the poem. The speaker’s focus turns specifically to become physically intimate with the speaker—based on the kissing—indeed, the poem ends with a request for a kiss—and idea that the world is full of an interconnectedness proscribed sibilance is used to convey the sounds of kissing. Sibilance has a by a “divine law.” The structure of the poem supports the whispery quality too, suggestive of physical intimacy. speaker's efforts, as the poem itself is full of structural "pairs": it The development of this /s/ sound throughout the second has two structurally harmonious stanzas, it has many lines stanza makes it seem as though the speaker is almost leaning in paired together through enjambment, it has two rhetorical and whispering into the addressee’s ear—the sound suggests a questions that end each stanza, and so on. The speaker, of movement and relation of seduction. course, wants to be part of a pair with the addressee—and filling the poem with pairs helps reinforce this attempt at And because of the prominent and repeated use of the words seduction. "clasp" and "kiss" in the second stanza—and the intense sibilance of those words—all the other sibilance seems to echo In terms of the construction of the poem's seductive argument, those words, and thus intensifies the connection between the both stanzas are very similar. Essentially, they present evidence

©2020 LitCharts LLC v.007 www.LitCharts.com Page 7 Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com of the interconnectedness of the world, and conclude with a rhyme in line 3, the B rhyme in line 2 to the B rhyme in line 4, rhetorical question that makes clear the reason for the and so forth. speaker’s words in the first place. There is a ek y difference, As with many other of the techniques used in this poem in though. The first stanza explicitly states the “divine law” which which a speaker seeks to "pair off" physically with an governs the speaker’s argument—that all things are in union addressee, the rhyme scheme also creates pairs. In this way, the with one another. Having stated this, the second stanza rhyme scheme subtly reinforces and exemplifies the divine" personifies its subject more intensely, with more sexually law" that the speaker is saying exists and is the basis for why suggestive imagery and language. the addressee should go along with this attempted seduction. METER Note that not all of the rhymes in the poem are full rhymes—river/ever for example, or heaven/forgiven. But even While “Love’s Philosophy” has a disarming simplicity to the these occasional slant rhymes serve to emphasize the other sound of its meter, technically speaking it is quite complex. perfect rhymes. One especially important full rhyme is the final Most lines are written in lines of four-syllable tetrameter, with one, in which “sea” is rhymed with “me.” The purity of this rhyme a few notable exceptions, and the governing metrical foot of the gives the last line a sense of conclusion and completion, as poem follows the stressed-unstressed pattern of the trochee. though the speaker’s argument is now done and that all is left However, the poem also contains a good bit of variation, often to do, inevitably, is kiss. through the use of inserting an extra syllable at the start—known as catalexis. This pattern can be seen in the opening two lines of the poem: SPEAKER

The | fountains | mingle | with the | river The speaker in “Love’s Philosophy” is unspecified. While it might And the | river | with the | o-cean, be tempting to think of the speaker as being Shelley himself, or as being a man because the poem was written by a man, it is The first line has nine syllables, with catalexis inserting an initial worth noting that nothing in terms of sex or gender is revealed unstressed syllable. From there, stressed-unstressed trochees about either the speaker or the addressee. continue through the rest of both lines. As a result, these lines While all personal details have been left out, there’s little doubt gain an interesting metrical symmetry in which the two lines that the speaker has one goal in mind: the seduction of the function as mirror images. The first line begins with an addressee! The speaker attempts this seduction through a kind unstressed syllable then alternates between stresses until it of logical argument, the type employed by earlier English poets ends on an unstressed syllable, while the second starts with a such as Andrew Marvell and John Donne. The speaker keeps stressed syllable and then alternates until it ends on an relatively detached from their seduction argument, except for unstressed syllable. Accordingly, these lines have a flowing at the two crucial rhetorical questions. The bulk of the poem is sound befitting the subject—water—that it describes. Lines 3 about building a case, almost like an attorney in a courtroom, and 4 then does exactly the same thing. through different stages of proofs. These examples are meant In both stanzas, the lines that mark the midway and end points to provide evidence of the world’s interconnectedness, both have less than four stresses (lines 4, 8, 12, and 16). This with regard to natural elements and the spiritual realm. The provides a kind of gentle relief from the ongoing argument of speaker presents all these examples as proving the existence of seduction, but also allows for the speaker to make the case that a “divine law,” which allows the speaker to cheekily suggest that their argument is, ultimately, very simple. it would somehow be wrong if they and the addressee were not to follow the same “law” too by creating their own physical and Why not I with thine?— emotional union. While it is possible to interpret the speaker as believing the If thou kiss not me? argument being made, it is just as possible to argue that the speaker is making the argument solely for the purpose of These two rhetorical questions, for example, are made to seem seducing the addressee. all-the-more obvious precisely because of how simply they are posed (the full four stresses in the line are not even necessary): SETTING RHYME SCHEME “Love’s Philosophy” has a highly regular rhyme scheme. Each In the sense that this poem has one main goal—the seduction of stanza runs ABABCDCD. In other words, each line is paired its addressee by the speaker—the truest way of describing the with another line through rhyme: The A rhyme in line 1 to the A setting is that it takes place in the space between two people. This is a space, moreover, that the speaker wants to close down,

©2020 LitCharts LLC v.007 www.LitCharts.com Page 8 Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com to make more intimate. landscape and working on their craft. As part of this effort, though, there is also the setting of what Shelley wrote widely about his political views, though he often the speaker describes in the poem. This description takes place struggled to find publication due to their adicalr nature. His in what might best be called a "generic natural setting," with views on economics and morality are said to have influenced reference to rivers, oceans, seas, mountains, winds, sunlight Karl Marx’s work, and his belief in non-violent resistance was and so on. The generality of this aspect of the setting—as taken into account by later resistances like the one led by opposed to naming a specific place—makes the speaker’s Mahatma Ghandi in India against British colonial rule. argument seem universally applicable. Essentially, the speaker Shelley drowned shortly before his thirtieth birthday off the is saying that all of nature is governed by a divine law of coast of Italy. While this was presumed to be an accident, other togetherness—and that so too should they be (the speaker and theories exist too—suicide, conspiracy, a lack of boating skills, the addressee). and so on. Famously, Shelley’s body was cremated on the nearby coast. His heart, though, did not burn, and was CONTEXT eventually returned to Mary Shelley. LITERARY CONTEXT MORE RESOURCES Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the foremost members of the British Romantic poets of the 18th century (a loose group that EXTERNAL RESOURCES often includes Lord Byron, John Keats, William Wordsworth • Other Poems and Info — A number of Shelley's most and William Blake). He was also married to Mary Shelley, who popular poems, plus more background information. wrote Frankenstein. (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/percy-bysshe- This poem does show some of the common characteristics of shelley) Romantic poetry. In particular, it showcases a love for and • A Reading of the Poem — Iain Batchelor performs the admiration of nature. The Romantic poets, who wrote as the poem in a way that makes its argument-based structure world was being transformed by the Industrial Revolution, easy to comprehend. (https://www.youtube.com/ tended to believe that nature was more important to the watch?v=uVvaxLvZkB0) human spirit than the built-up urban or industrial spaces of the world. • Get to Know the Romantics — A BBC documentary about the Romantic poets. (https://www.youtube.com/ Interestingly though, “Love’s Philosophy” probably has more in watch?v=R6mefXs5h9o) common with the work of the 17th century English Metaphysical poets such as John Donne and Andrew Marvell • Shelley's Death — An interesting article that looks at the than with other Romantic poetry, Shelley’s or otherwise. John myths surrounding Shelley's death. Donne in particular was a master of the seduction poem, (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jan/24/ constructing fanciful but convincing arguments about why the featuresreviews.guardianreview1) proposed lover should be with the speaker. Excellent examples • John Donne's "The Flea" — A wonderful poem written include “The Flea” and “The Good-Morrow.” Shelley’s poem almost two hundred years before Shelley's which uses a follows a similar approach, establishing a central conceit—that similar technique of seduction through argument and all the world is interconnected—and turning this into an conceit. (https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/john-donne/ irrefutable argument in favor of physical passion. the-flea) HISTORICAL CONTEXT LITCHARTS ON OTHER PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY Shelley has a notorious life story and was in many ways a true POEMS radical for his day and age. Coming of age in the early 19th • Ode to the West Wind century, Shelley was a vegetarian before it was common, • Ozymandias politically active, and sexually liberal. Like his friend Lord Byron, he is famous for his passionate and chaotic love affairs. Shelley’s political engagement started early, but became very strong when he met the political philosopher, William Godwin, whose daughter Mary he would later marry. Godwin didn’t actually approve of the match, but Shelley and Mary proceeded nonetheless. As with a number of the Romantic poets, they travelled widely around Europe, taking in the majestic

HOW TO CITE

MLA Howard, James. "Love’s Philosophy." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 23 Jan 2019. Web. 22 Apr 2020. CHICAGO MANUAL Howard, James. "Love’s Philosophy." LitCharts LLC, January 23, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2020. https://www.litcharts.com/ poetry/percy-bysshe-shelley/love-s-philosophy.